Hall of Fame Major League Baseball Player, Manager. For thirteen seasons (1925 to 1937), he played at the catcher position with the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers. Born Gordon Stanley Cochrane in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, he attended Bridgewater High School and played collegiate football (halfback position) at Boston University, before marking his Major League debut with the Athletics on April 14th, 1925. During that season, he recorded 139 hits with a .331 batting average in 134 games. Along with Jimmie Foxx and Al Simmons, Cochrane was a key contributor to the Athletics' dynasty teams which captured three consecutive American League pennants (1929 to 1931), including two world championships (1929 and 1930). During the 1929 World Series, he posted a .400 batting average and in the 1930 Fall Classic, he belted 2 home runs and drove in four runs. He was a two-time recipient of the AL MVP Award (1928 and 1934) and earned All-Star honors twice (1934 and 1935). From 1934 to 1937, he served as player-manager with the Tigers and guided them to a 101 win, 53 loss record in 1934 and the first of two consecutive American League pennants (1934 and 1935), including the World Series title in 1935. He was succeeded by Del Baker as the Tigers' manager during the 1938 season, after compiling a career 348 win, 250 loss regular season managerial record. In 1,482 regular season games as a player, Cochrane amassed 1,652 hits with a .320 lifetime batting average and recorded 27 hits in 31 career World Series contests. Following service with the US Navy during World War II, he would go on to serve as general manager of the Athletics and was on their coaching staff in 1950. He later scouted for the New York Yankees and Tigers and after leaving baseball worked in public relations. He was enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947. He died from cancer at the age of 59 in Lake Forest, Illinois.